The Epilogue

“Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are brutal holidays in our family”

Tommy, Cammy’s brother

The Epilogue (2014) was developed in close collaboration with the Robinson family following the death of their 27 year old daughter, Cammy, from bulimia. Combining family photographs, personal archives, oral testimonies, medical records and newly produced images, Laia Abril reconstructs Cammy’s life through the fragments left behind by those who knew her. Borrowing its structure from the literary epilogue, the work begins where the story has already ended, unfolding as a narrative shaped by memory, absence and grief.

Neither documentary nor fiction, the book uses narrative as a method of investigation. As testimonies, photographs and archival material accumulate, a life gradually emerges through fragments, contradictions and omissions, acknowledging the impossibility of fully reconstructing another person’s experience. The work shifts the focus from the illness itself to its emotional and social aftermath.

The Epilogue forms the third chapter of On Eating Disorders, an investigation into eating disorders and their cultural, political and social dimensions. Focusing on grief and its aftermath, the work reveals the lasting impact of these illnesses on families while confronting the silence that continues to surround them.

“The girl we thought we knew was not. To be perfectly honest I don’t think I ever knew Cammy.” 

Jan, Cammy’s mother

If you’re struggling with an eating disorder or feel at risk, please reach out for help: NEDA (US) — , Beat (UK) — , or find local support worldwide.